Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu is a religious leader in South Africa. His protests helped to bring an end to South Africa’s apartheid laws. Apartheid was a system that kept blacks separate from whites. In 1984 Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on October 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, South Africa. His father was a schoolteacher. Tutu graduated from the University of South Africa in 1954.

Tutu taught school for three years. Then he went back to college to study religion. In 1961 he became a priest in the Anglican church. He then taught religion in South Africa and Lesotho (another country in southern Africa).

Between 1972 and 1975 Tutu worked in Great Britain for a Christian group called the World Council of Churches. Then he returned to Africa to serve the Anglican church.

Between 1978 and 1985 Tutu led the South African Council of Churches. During this time he frequently made nonviolent protests against apartheid laws. The apartheid system made life hard for blacks. They did not have the same rights as whites.

In 1986 Tutu became archbishop (the top rank in the Anglican church) of Cape Town, South Africa. He was the first black to hold this job. In 1988 Tutu also became chancellor (president) of the University of the Western Cape in Bellville, South Africa. He continued to protest against apartheid.

Apartheid finally ended in the early 1990s. In 1995 Tutu led a committee that investigated the crimes of apartheid. He retired as archbishop in 1996, but he continued to teach.

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